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It’s the halfway point of the Rangers season, so that means report cards around here.
Now, most of us are done with proper school, so the thought of seeing grades makes me (and probably some others) feel a bit queasy. We don’t need to evaluate the first half of the season so formally.
So let’s have a little fun with it: We’ve got each of the current 22 Rangers on the roster alongside one classic hip-hop song to describe their game, the first half of their season, or how each guy is perceived.
This may not be your thing, but we’ve included a Spotify playlist at the end so you can familiarize yourself with the greatest era of music ever (could be a bit subjective, I know).
Here we go. All data below is courtesy of Clear Sight Hockey.
Igor Shesterkin — The Champ
The reigning Vezina winner hasn’t exactly duplicated that form in the first half but he’s still the Rangers MVP so far in 2022-23 and he’s warming up. Shesterkin has allowed one goal in five of his last 11 starts after one or fewer allowed in four of his first 19 starts. He leads all goalies in minutes played this season so the Rangers will have to monitor that over the second half. But after some early struggles, Shesterkin looks like he’s closer to his 2021-22 self.
Key stat: Shesterkin is third among all goalies since Dec. 6 with 8.97 goals saved above expectation. Prior to Dec. 26, he was 26th, with 1.48 GSAx.
Adam Fox — Hypnotize
The data, the eye test, the basic stats — they all show Fox is returning to the height of his powers so far this season. He’s got 40 points and a real shot at the first 80-point season for a Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch had 85 points in 1995-96. Fox is playing 24:58 a night, ninth most in the league, having added nearly a full minute per game over last season while looking better in all three phases of the game, especially on the penalty kill. Another Norris Trophy isn’t out of the question.
Key stat: Fox ranks fifth in the league with 18.95 expected assists (plays that directly lead to scoring chances off of his passes). He ranks last in the league, 501st, with a minus-8.95 expected-assist differential, meaning he’s about nine assists shy of what he should have based on missed scoring chances by his teammates.
Mika Zibanejad — Sure Shot
After what you’d consider a down year for him goal-scoring-wise with 29 in 2021-22 (to go with a career-high 52 assists, of course), Zibanejad is back to being the prime Ranger scoring threat up front, especially on the power play. Chris Kreider led the NHL with 26 PPGs a year ago and Zibanejad is in the running to lead the league this year, with 12 so far, two behind a group of elite goal-scorers — Tage Thompson, Leon Draisaitl, and Connor McDavid. With opposing teams starting to treat Zibanejad like Alex Ovechkin and assign a PK shadow to keep him from his one-timer, Zibanejad may have to get creative in the second half. But he’s got a shot at another 40-goal season.
Key stat: No one’s taken more slap shots (62) than Zibanejad this season. He’s third with seven slap-shot goals. The slapper may be going out of style, but not for 93.
Artemi Panarin — I Ain’t No Joke
The Breadman loves to have fun and not take things too seriously, but he’s very serious about having an impact on the ice despite appearances from time to time. He leads the team with 45 points and could become the first Ranger ever to post three 90-point seasons. He’s revved up his shooting too, on pace for 200-shot and 400-attempt seasons after dipping below those marks last year. His career-low 10.3 shooting percentage should revert up closer to his 14-percent career mark too.
Key stat: Only four players have higher expected-assist numbers than Fox this season — Panarin, at 20.45xA, is one of them.
Chris Kreider — O.G. Original Gangster
He was due for regression, we all said. No chance he could come close to 52 goals again, we all said. Not in his age 31 season, we all said. What’d Kreider say? Watch me. He’s not the power-play goal machine he was in 2021-22, but he’s been incredibly consistent once again and is within reach of 40. Pretty impressive late-career reliability after never scoring more than 28 before last season.
Key stat: Kreider ranks ninth in the league with 19.93 expected goals — this season sure isn’t a fluke.
K’Andre Miller — Can I Kick It?
There’s no more waiting to see what happens with Miller. He’s a bona fide top-four defenseman now, headed toward being a long-time top-pair guy. He leads the Rangers in even-strength ice time and he’s on pace for 40 points. The Rangers have had two 40-point defensemen in the same season twice in the last 30 years. And Miller’s offense, like his defense, impacts games. GM Chris Drury won’t get any discounts on Miller’s second contract, but locking him up long-term is worth the cost.
Key stat: He’s averaging 22:09 a game, up from 20:36 a year ago, and looks as good, if not better, doing so.
Ryan Lindgren — Bring The Noise
He may end up a cap casualty next offseason and the Rangers would miss Lindgren, the same way they missed him when he sat out three games — all losses — against the Penguins in the opening round of the playoffs with a high-ankle sprain before he improbably came back about a month too soon from such an injury to gut out the remainder of the postseason. Lindgren takes a beating like no other Ranger — few in the league do — but he rarely wavers. He’s also already just three points off his season high and making some strong plays up and down the ice.
Key stat: The number is 24 — Lindgren’s age. Amazing to think he plays the way he does and he’s still a month away from turning 25.
Jacob Trouba — Slam
It hasn’t been a good first half for Trouba the player. An upper-body injury in the preseason limited him through the first six weeks or so, but he kept up his minutes and tried to play through it to mostly ugly results. For Trouba the captain and leader, though, this last month has been a testament to what effect he has. If the Rangers continue on this trend since early December, Trouba’s “Wake the —- up!” shout and helmet toss against the Hawks on Dec. 3 may stand as a top-10 moment for a Ranger wearing the C.
Key stat: Trouba has been on the ice for 38 five-on-five goals against — the total number of 5v5 goals scored when fellow right-side D-men Fox (21) and Braden Schneider (17) are on the ice this season.
Filip Chytil — Watch Out Now
Three goals off his season-best and two points off his season-best in just 33 games, having missed eight with a concussion and a lower-body injury. Chytil is not a force every shift but he has displayed a newfound confidence, possibly a carryover from his exhilarating run in the playoffs. It’s easy to forget, as Chytil approaches 300 games with the Rangers, that he turned 23 in September. And he’s still getting his beggar’s minutes (13:59 a night) mostly outside of the top six. So there’s likely still more beneath the surface.
Key stat: Chytil’s 2.27 even-strength points per 60 minutes is second on the Rangers, behind only Panarin (2.45).
Kaapo Kakko — It’s Like That
Kakko’s game has been drawing praise from Gallant and Rangers teammates of late and that’s certainly a positive sign. He’s still not quite having the scoring impact you’d like to see with good possession time and a wealth of scoring chances through the first half, but he’s on pace for 18 goals and his season-high is 10 — progress!
Key stat: Kakko’s 26 even-strength high-danger chances this season are second on the team, behind Kreider.
Alexis Lafrenière — I Know You Got Soul
The Rangers certainly have to hope there’s some fire in there somewhere. Lafrenière’s first half actually has him on a career-high 36-point pace but it’s been as forgettable a stretch of games as he’s had in a long time in this sport. The benching two weeks ago is the freshest memory; Gallant has increased Lafrenière’s minutes in each of the four games since, so perhaps there’s some confidence building back up. Still have to wonder if the Rangers start to insist on seeing more of Lafrenière on the right side going forward.
Key stat: His five goals are tied for 11th on the team — with fellow 2020 first-rounder Schneider.
Barclay Goodrow — U.N.I.T.Y.
The ultimate do-anything, team guy. Yes, the contract is a burden, but the player can actually contribute — decent faceoff guy, decent offense, decent defense. Considering how bereft the bottom six has been at times the last year-plus, Goodrow is still a handy player to have around.
Key stat: Goodrow with the Sharks/Lightning: 32 goals in 331 games. Goodrow with the Rangers: 21 goals in 120 games.
Jimmy Vesey — Ice Ice Baby
Really wasn’t another choice here, clearly. Vesey’s journey from camp tryout to two-year extension has been a very pleasant surprise like Goodrow, another reliable bottom-sixer, but without the overpay. And putting up his best game of the year on the Leafs and the coach who called him vanilla a couple years ago? Priceless.
Key stat: Vesey’s on pace for his fourth season of double-digit goals in seven NHL seasons — all with the Rangers, just with a three-year gap.
Vincent Trocheck — Can’t Knock The Hustle
“I want to be out there for 60 minutes a night,” Trocheck said a couple weeks ago. He plays like it. He was probably guilty of trying to do too much in the early going and was beset by some rotten luck, hitting 10 posts/crossbars in his first 30 games. But he’s settled in nicely as the Rangers’ top faceoff taker (56.2 percent) and a reliable scorer and contributor who’s seemingly toned down some of the pest antics to focus on fitting with the team’s high-end talent. It’s still not a great fit with Panarin, but that takes time.
Key stat: Eight power-play goals have helped pick up the slack with Kreider not as sharp as last year in front of the net.
Julien Gauthier — Gossip Folks
We were all talking about The Goat last season — mostly wondering why he was still getting games when it seemed like his ability was limited to great speed and not much else. But after being scratched all through the playoffs, asking for a trade, re-signing, getting sent down after training camp and returning quickly, Gauthier’s game has seemingly sharpened. He’s not going to be a top-six guy despite the speed and the occasional wow display of offense, but he’s been incredibly well-suited to making the fourth line faster and more effective. Let ’em talk.
Key stat: Gauthier’s 1.37 goals/60 are top 20 in the league, tied with some guy called McDavid.
Braden Schneider — I Got It Made
The ever-smiling 21-year-old still hasn’t been tasked with any heavy lifting — his TOI is actually down from his rookie year to 14:59 a night — but what he does, he does well. Steady, with flashes of offensive skill that hardly anyone’s seen in his amateur or pro past, Schneider has given the Rangers some stability at the third-pair right spot. Just what they need.
Key stat: His PDO — on-ice shooting percentage plus save percentage — is a gaudy 1.048, fourth-highest among regular defensemen. Might mean some regression coming soon.
Libor Hajek — The Choice Is Yours
Hajek was in the rotation for the sixth D spot at the start of the season, seemingly able to at least get a shot at some regular playing time. He and Zac Jones got 16 games apiece and Drury and Gallant didn’t see enough to keep that going. Hajek doesn’t appear to be getting another crack at this any time soon but the team also can’t afford to move on from him just yet, keeping him sitting as the seventh defenseman much the same as last season. Limbo can’t be a fun place to be.
Key stat: It’s now 33 games played and 80 healthy scratches over the last season and a half.
Vitali Kravtsov — N.Y. State of Mind
Kravtsov’s season hasn’t stood out in any way, really. But the fact that he’s here playing for the Rangers feels like a minor miracle given the drama of the prior three years, so at least there’s something to work with now. Kravtsov has shown more offensive flair the past few weeks but still has just five points in 21 games.
Key stat: Kravtsov’s 5.70 chance differential — the difference between high- and mid-danger scoring chances for and against with Kravtsov on the ice — is fourth among Rangers forwards, behind Kreider, Zibanejad and Kakko.
Sammy Blais — Nothin’
Blais is a well-liked guy on this Rangers team and by his coach, but the justifications for keeping him in the lineup are dwindling by the game. We’re now at zero goals in 49 games as a Ranger and this is while playing on a fourth line that can and has contributed offensively. He’s looked just out of sorts coming back from ACL surgery last December, still willing to throw the body but not moving particularly well. Hard to envision Blais staying in the lineup if the Rangers add a forward before or at the trade deadline.
Key stat: Out of 580 NHLers with at least 20 scoring chances this season, Blais’ 1.68 expected goals ranks 541st.
Jaroslav Halak — The Breaks
If there’s a stronger word than inauspicious to describe Halak’s first weeks as a Ranger, we’ll keep checking the thesaurus. Halak lost his first six Ranger starts and his team gave him a whole seven goals in those losses. But the 37-year-old has pulled himself together with wins in four of his last five and he now sits as the sort of backup who could give Shesterkin a rest when needed and not just leave Gallant searching for a back-to-back, when he has to sit Igor. Stuff happens and Halak’s seen it all in 15 NHL seasons. Good on him for weathering the stormy start.
Key stat: Out of 81 goalies who’ve played NHL minutes this season, Halak’s 1.51 GSAx ranks 27th — way better than you figured, right?
Ben Harpur — I Go To Work
Kool Moe Dee probably didn’t have a journeyman hockey player in mind, but Harpur’s no-frills attitude and capable play seem to fit with this one. He was AHL tryout material at the start of the year but he’s shown why he’s managed to have NHL stints in all but one of his eight pro seasons.
Key stat: Harpur-Schneider has been on the ice for four goals against and four goals for at 5v5. That’s acceptable.
Jonny Brodzinski — Survival of the Fittest
The life of an AHL/NHL tweener isn’t fun. Brodzinski does what he does, which is bring energy, some speed, and a desire to get pucks on the opposing net, all in a 30-second shift as a fourth-liner. He’s given that line a nice jolt but not sure it’s going to last.
Key stat: Brodzinski’s chance differential: 1.21. Ryan Carpenter’s chance differential: minus-2.07.
Gerard Gallant — Vapors
The coach almost surely was 20 minutes away from being let go back on Dec. 5. Now, he’s overseeing a team that could go for back-to-back 100-point seasons for the third time in its history. That’s a turnaround. Gallant would tell you he didn’t do anything differently and he’s right — part of why he works well with this team is his ability to stay consistent in his dealings with the players, even if he shuffles lines a bit too much for the fan base.
Key stat: 74 wins in his first 123 games behind the Rangers bench — Gallant has done something no Ranger coach ever has.
(Photo: Dennis Schneidler / USA TODAY Sports)
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